Music

Guest Column: Five Albums That Will Change You By The Atlas Moth’s Stravros Giannopoulos

In our ongoing series of guest columns, we’ve asked a bunch of metal’s heaviest hitters to provide us with a list of five crucial albums they think will change you — either for the better or the worse. Today, we hear from Stavros Giannopoulos from The Atlas Moth, Chrome Waves and Twilight.

Deftones — White Pony
My favorite band ever. Although it’s hard for me to choose one of their records, this was the one that defined them as an entity all their own. A big fuck off to the nü tag and officially carving their own niche. Choice lyric: “You breathed, then you stopped, I breathed, and dried you.”

The Mars Volta — Deloused In The Comatorium
I haven’t never enjoyed anything this band has done since but this album is nearly flawless. From the songs to the performances, the production, the layers. Everything about it is amazing. My only complaint would be that you can’t seem them without them turning every song into a three-hour jam. Choice lyric: “You should have seen, The curse that flew right by you; Page of concrete, Sting walks crutch in hobbled sway; Auto-da-f, A capillary hint of red; Only this manupod, Crescent in shape has escaped.”The Cure — Disintegration
This was one of the first albums I ever owned thanks to my older sister. It’s also one of the saddest, darkest records ever in my opinion. I’m a sucker for sappy too, and this has always been one to listen to when I’m feeling down. Choice lyric: “Whenever I’m alone with you, You make me feel like I am home again.”

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds — Tender Prey
By far, the best show I have ever seen. This was my first and still my favorite Cave record. I have never disliked a single thing he has ever done, whether it be an album, a soundtrack, a movie — the man is a fuckin’ genius. This, to me, was everything he was going for. Choice lyric: “I hear stories from the chamber, How Christ was born into a manger; And like some ragged stranger, Died upon the cross; And might I say it seems so fitting in its way”

Down — Nola
This list could have easily just been The Great Southern Trendkill, Equilibrium, Deliverance, and Take As Needed For The Pain but instead I’ll lump them into what is by far the greatest album by a “super group” ever. Every single riff is insane, every lyric is pissed, it’s just a perfect record in my eyes, made by a bunch of dudes right in their prime. Untouchable. Choice lyric: “And when you walk away, there’ll be no coming home.”